Minto Cup 2012 Sights and Sounds

ILGear.com made yet another trip to Canada this past weekend for the 2012 Minto Cup, the Canadian Lacrosse Association's Junior A box lacrosse championships, which were held in Whitby, Ontario, at the Iroquois Park Sports Centre.

It was a great display of lacrosse the way its played north of the border: fast, intense and extremely physical, with the players going at each other for the entire 60 minutes of play. In the end, it was the Orangeville Northmen taking the program's third Minto Cup in the last five summers, with a 9-4 victory over the Coquitlam Adanacs of the British Columbia Lacrosse Association. That win sealed the best-of-three series for the Northmen, who defeated the Adanacs the night before 19-6 in a rout.

Check out what we saw, as well as several video interviews with some of the notable members of the Orangeville roster, including Jeremy Noble (Denver), Dillon Ward (Bellarmine), Brandon Benn (Johns Hopkins) and head coach Matt Sawyer.

The Iroquois Park Sports Centre was a festival of lacrosse all week long.

Outside shot of the arena.

Whitby and sevaral other organizations, including the Toronto Rock, also played host to the Ontario Lacrosse Festival in early August.

The Canadian Lacrosse Association had a big presence at the Minto Cup.

There's a TON of cool memorabilia from the various teams that call the Iroquois Park Sports Centre home, including the Jr. B Clarington Green Gaels (formerly the Oshawa Green Gaels.

Tons of love for the Brooklyn Redmen of the Ontario Lacrosse Association's Major Series on display.

Love this box-pinched STX Hi-Wall

Really love this older woody, which has a very long face like some of the older sticks I've seen around.

Pretty cool to be in the rink where Joe Nieuwendyk, long-time NHL star and current manager of the Dallas Stars, cut his teeth. Nieuwendyk is the namesake of the OLA's Junior A rookie of the year award.

Adam Foote (above), and Mike Keenan (below), second-cousin of Derek Keenan, the head coach of the Edmonton Rush. Mike is a former NHL player and coach.

Whitby youth lacrosse jersey on display.

This display honors former Brooklyn standout Scott McMichael, who passed away in 1996.

Lots of Minto Cup apparel on sale during the event.

The Whitby Warriors, hosts of the event, were knocked off in a shocker by the Coquitlam Adanacs.

The Toronto Rock were on hand, raffling off some custom team goodies.

The night of the finals, Colin Doyle was playing with the Six Nations Chiefs in the Major Series finals against the Peterborough Lakers.

Orangeville getting ready to battle.

Coquitlam ready to roll.

Didn't take long for the teams to get after one another. 30 penalty minutes were doled out at the 15-minute mark of the first period after Coquitlam's Reid Reinholdt collided with Orangeville netminder Dillon Ward, igniting players on both sides.

Lots of memories in this arena, as Whitby's Junior A program has had plenty of success over the years.

Really dig this old banner. Older than I am.

Don't forget all the glory Whitby's hockey teams have had over the years.

Behold: the Minto Cup.

CLA's medals for the winners.

The Jim Bishop Award, presented to the player in the Minto Cup tourney displaying the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and outstanding play. This hardware went to Jeremy Noble.

Orangeville fans celebrating, with the Horn Heads flag flying high.

Orangeville's captain, Jeremy Noble (also a member of the Denver Pioneers), begins the celebration for the Northmen.

Coquitlam stood by as the Minto Cup was presented.

Sweet floor decal.

Orangeville dons their Minto Cup winners' hats and awaits the trophy.

Good look at the team's jerseys here.

Jeremy Noble poses with Joey Harris, president of the CLA, with the Jim Bishop Award.

Dillon Ward was honored with the MVP ring after making 30 saves in the 9-4 win, but he was outstanding throughout the entire Minto Cup tournament. Ward is also the starting netminder at Bellarmine University.

Rob Hellyer, who's also a member of the NLL's Toronto Rock, was honored after the game. He put up two goals and an assist in the win.

Reid Reinholdt, brother of Limestone standout Tor, was named the Adanacs MVP.

The Adanacs shake hands with Orangeville. Number 3 is Jeff Cornwall, who plays for the Buffalo Bandits in the NLL.

The Northmen shaking hands with Coquitlam. Number 15 is Brandon Benn (Johns Hopkins), who scored two goals in the win.

Good look at the back of the Coquitlam sweaters.

Love hats. The Orangemen were given these Minto Cup 2012 winners' hats, made by New Era.

Jeremy Noble was the first to hoist the Minto Cup trophy. Jeremy said the team played knowing that the late Ryan and Chris Sanderson, Orangeville natives, were looking down on them. He said the victory was dedicated to the Sandersons and the rest of the Orangeville community.

Trophy making its way around the team for a victory whoop and smooch. Bradley Kri hollers in triumph.

Ian Mackay, headed to the University of Vermont for the 2013 NCAA season, plants one on the Minto Cup.

Orangeville's custom Under Armour Player gloves with the team's logo embroidered on the cuff.

Orangeville has traditionally had a simple black helmet. This is a Nike/Bauer lid from a while back.